Things I will accomplish before the big three-oh.

An already good day plus Dewar’s

It’s weird how ebullient I feel on Lucy’s good days. I’m not completely happy, because no matter how good her days are, this is still not a good situation, and I would still rather she were happily growing inside me. But I’m so relieved on the good days that I’m almost delirious. Today was one of those days (although part of the delirious/relieved feeling may be that I got a little more sleep last night). Lucy had a really good day today. And we had an extra good day because we visited Dewar’s ice cream parlor and candy shop, (again, thanks Lauren!) and had ice cream. That was super fun.

First, they tried her again on the regular ventilator. Her first blood gas wasn’t ideal in terms of her CO2 levels, so they turned up her settings a bit. Her second gas test still was about the same, so I kind of thought she’d be back on the oscillator by tomorrow. But her third test was much better, and the doctor was pleased, so it looks like she’ll be staying on the regular ventilator, at least for now. We’re so happy about that because 1) it’s a step in the right direction for her, and a step closer to us being able to hold her, 2) it’s way smaller and quieter than the oscillator, and 3) she can move around a lot more. And that girl likes to move. The other day her nurse said “that girl has spunk. When she wants to move, she moves. The sedatives don’t even phase her.” It must be true; each of her nurses has said so independently. I love that my baby is so active!

Update: right before I was about to post this her nurse called with her most recent blood gas results, and her CO2 had gone up a bit, unfortunately. But the doctor wants to keep her on the conventional vent for now, and they’re doing another test in the morning. They’re going to suction her lines pretty regularly (I guess they have more secretions on the regular vent than on the oscillator), and they’re going to turn her on her tummy, which can help them breathe better. So hopefully that helps, and hopefully she’ll be better by the morning, but you can never tell with these things. We’ll see if she lasts on this vent or has to go back to the oscillator.

Update 2: it’s 6:30 in the morning, and her last blood gas was good, so she’s staying on the traditional ventilator for now, yay!

Her doctor also started her feedings again – slow at first, 2 cc’s every 12 hours for now. I’m just happy that her tummy looked good enough that they thought it was okay, and that she’s getting milk again. She was weighed again after she had some diuretics to get rid of excess fluid, and she was 714 grams, 1 lb. 9 oz. I think that’s probably pretty close to her actual weight, and I’m happy with that.

We got in lots of cuddle time today. I love kissing her sweet back and tummy and head and every single part of her. She’s a total daddy’s girl, though. She was completely relaxed and sat-ing high when he was cuddling her. It’s so nice to snuggle with our little Lucy, especially when she’s opening her eyes to look at us. She’s so precious.